Pauper’s List, Delaware County, New York

[Author’s note: Whether an
institution is known as an orphan’s asylum, orphanage, or home for
children, those living in the institution have suffered the same fate: they
have been separated from their biological family for a period of time]

The Susquehanna Valley Home
of Broome County, New York was founded in 1869 in Binghamton, NY[1]
to provide children a safe haven from being “herded together with adults in what
was then known as the ‘almshouse’ “ (Ulster County Information Services, 2004)

_____

Source: Bob Barber, Assistant
to the Broome County Historian. (Personal correspondence to author,
16 May 2003,) in reply to my request for information regarding the children’
names found in the “Pauper’s List – Delaware County, NY. Mr. Barber’s
responded: I was not able to find the Breakey children you listed in your
E-mail. However, I did find 4 other Breakey children from the same family
listed for 1885.

Name: Charles Breakey

Name: Frank Breakey

Name: Susan Breakey

Town: Hancock

Year: 1895, 1898

Children’s Home

Length of stay: not indicated

Name: Susie Breakey

Town: Hancock

Year: 1900

Children’s Home

Length of stay: not indicated

_____

[Author’s note: Although there is no reference to the final
disposition of these Breakey children, for anyone interested, or not aware of
the plight of orphans in the mid-to late 1800s, I would highly recommend the
following resource:]

“Journey of the Forgotten Children.” Poorhouse Project.Ulster Country Information Services. 2004. The online article is found via
www.co.ulster.ny.us/poorhouse/children.html. Within this article I would
further recommend the links to the Susquehanna Valley Home and the Orphan Trail
Riders.